Remnant's Guard Dog
by nickd497
Summary: A Servant finds themselves on an entirely different world, contracted by that very world itself to save residents living on it.


Servants, the warriors summoned to fight in the Holy Grail War, were traditionally great Heroes from the past. Legendary men and women, who lived a grand life, and became famously known. Whether their tale was passed down through written fact, or as folk lore, overexaggerating achievements, these Heroes were recorded in the **Throne of Heroes (1)** , something removed from the very bounds of time and existence, allowing these spirits to be called upon again, and again. The Hero known as Ireland's Child of Light, and the Hero of Ulster, was one such spirit. His reknown was worldwide, and his accomplishments in life spoken highly. One thing was for certain, Cu Chulainn was a Heroic Spirit. Meant to be summoned by Masters fighting for the Holy Grail, not by the World (2).

Yet, in many different universes, the concept of the **Will of Humanity** versus the **Will of The World** were not uncommon. Though, not entirely as forceful and pronounced as it was on Earth at times. Traditionally, a Heroic Spirit who _does_ manage to get themselves stuck into being summoned by the world, is provided a large boost to stats, and nigh unlimited Mana. Even the weakest of Servants could become deadly under the contract of the World.

So.. when a world, desperate on the edge of mankind's destruction, reaches out to summon a Hero to bring a halt to the pain and suffering, it was just his luck that he was the Servant chosen.. Well, doing shitty jobs came with the territory of being a Hero.

* * *

In the world of Remnant, there existed four kingdoms. Each co-existed with each other, having reached times of peace; Vale in the center of all four, Vacuo to the west, Atlas to the north, and Mistral off in the east. A world where peace existed was hardly one where a Servant needed to be summoned, however, aside from discord within the kingdoms, and criminals, there existed a far larger threat than war between nations. The Grimm; creatures of darkness, which existed without souls, and sought to destroy humanity. As humans and faunus alike called out for revenge against the soul-less creatures, as they wished and hoped for them to one day disappear, unbenknownst to them, the World was listening. Gaining power, and collecting Mana.

Servants were a concept non-existant in the world of Remnant, and so in order to contract and pull a legendary Hero from another world, a large amount of Mana was required.

The contract was finally complete.

* * *

 **Two months later.**

A dusty old bar sat at the edge of the town. It was mostly empty at this time of day, but if one were to poke their head inside, a man dress in mostly white alongside a tattered red cloak could be seen, His hair was dark and spiky, though one could barely make that detail out from outside. His head was currently buried in his arms, as it was apparent the man was drunk off his rocker. This everyday drunkard was Qrow Branwen. He was in this small town for a reason. He would usually not pass by, let alone stay inside these outskirt towns without much reason unless on a mission, however..

Five days earlier, Ozpin contacted his long-time associate, and dropped some intruiging information on the crows head. According to information, there existed a particularly interesting individual out in this town on the outskirts of Vale. A man who apparently, according to locals, appeared within town out of nowhere, no money, and no roof over his head. A skilled warrior, the rumor went, as he defended the town from Grimm attacks, and dealt with criminals as well. They went and paraded him around as a Hero, and some townspeople even begin to hail him as a gift from above. A blue-haired spearmen, who was as fast as some of the best Huntsmen and Huntresses according to locals.

Now, here was where the story got interesting. Ozpin had dug around, and using his contacts tried to locate anything on a man with the same description. Much to his surprise, nothing showed. A Hunstmen of enough reknown as to protect a town which usually would be sending out numerous requests over the course of the year for Hunstmen protection against Grimm, was no sending no requests. Someone of that calibre would have shown somewhere. School or military training, even medical or dental records, but there was nothing. You see, wandering vagabonds who were tough enough to fight Grimm came a dime a dozen in this world; wandering vagabonds who also had no information - not even rumors on them, prior to the date they first showed up, are an uncertainty. So uncommon, and unlikely that it had never really happened before. Even assuming he came from the outside world, the timing of it all with the lingering threat of Salem was enough for Ozpin to send in his best man to investigate... and to potentially offer him a spot to Beacon, if the man was as heroic as the locals touted.

Unfortunately for the often-times surly and drunk man, this meant he had to lumber his ass out here, and look for someone potentially dangerous.

'Well, there isn't any point to keep complaining about it now,' and with that he stood, taking out his wallet, and putting some Lien down on the counter for the barkeep, taking his turn to leave. After sliding his wallet inside of his pocket again, he began questioning locals around the bar about the mystery man's location. No concrete answers, mainly just praise for the man in question, that was until..

"Ah, yes, if you're looking for Mister Cu, he's down by the lake fishing!" said information came from a female, who if he had to guess, likely did not obtain this information with "Cu"'s knowledge or consent in mind. Dismissing her with a short "thanks," he made his way over to the lake.

This town was small, and without very much to do, it would stand to barely attract anybody or anything. The lake, however, was likely it's best selling point. As he came down the crest of the hill, which revealed the large body of water, he understood why people enjoyed it. With only a few more hours of daylight left, the lake looked stunning, its water glistening even from his distance. Dull red eyes scanned the shore, and sure enough, at the end of the docks, sat a man with a shocking shade of blue for hair.

Breathing out a sigh, Qrow began his trek down the hill, and towards the wooden docks.

* * *

An annoyed huff escaped his lips; the catches today had been awful, and it showed on his sour expression. Even in this mood of annoyance, Cu was no fool nor amateur. He noticed the presence of the person behind him, the moment he stepped onto the docks platform. Not that it rung off any alarm bells. People approached him all the time, it came with the status of Hero of the village. Not that he cared for that kind of thing, he never had honestly.

He was currently wearing his favorite casual clothes, a collared shirt with a mess of bright colors, predominantly being green and red, with black jeans and boots (3).. another foot step brought him out of his stupor, and looking back over his shoulder just in time to see someone standing right behind him, hands on their hip, eyebrow risen, as if they had been expecting something more. Honestly, that expression just served to further irritate himself, especially because he didn't recognize the guy. Probably just another tourist come to check out the place, and see him.

"Listen buddy, I just got done with a crappy day fishing, so unless you're here to tell me your family needs to be saved or somethin', you better make it quick," Cu said, as he stood from his seated position turning his full attention towards the newcomer.

"You're certainly not what I expected with the tall tales.. the name is Qrow Branwen, and I came here after being tipped off about your presence," he stopped, allowing the man to take in what he was saying, but continued before he could reply, "I've come here to see if you're all that this town hypes you up to be, and to also extend an offer."

"Cu Chulainn," was the simple response the crow got in return, though Cu's burning red eyes were staring intently into him. The particularly part of the rumor about the boy being seventeen also seemed true currently; he was built, that was for sure from the muscle that showed in his exposed arms, but his facial features were lighter and soft enough to pin him as younger, though despite that his features were still sharp by comparison to your average person, "and what, pray tell, could ya offer me, Qrow?"

"Assuming I haven't vastly misjudged, you should be around the age of seventeen, correct?" A nod confirmed this, and so he pushed on.. sometimes he really hated Ozpin for making him do these things, "I was given the information to track you down by an associate of mine, a man named Ozpin. As I'm sure you're well acquainted with already, Grimm are a huge threat, and so schools are dedicated to teaching young and aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses how to develop and be prepared in the future. Ozpin, you see, is Headmaster of one such combat school, known as Beacon."

"That place?" the blue-haired man drawled, his lips forming into a tight line as he realized where this was going already, "so you know of it?" Qrow asked, his eyebrow raising slightly.

"Nah, I just had some locals ask me if I was trained there when I first came here and fought for em," Cu answered truthfully, and that was as far as his knowledge on that particular subject went, Qrow shrugged, continuing on, "Well, as I'm sure you already figured out, I'm here on his behalf to offer you a spot in his school. Now, I think I know what your next response will be, 'why should I put myself through that?' And there's onereason, really. You see, being a vigilante is all fun and games, until the police in Vale catch wind of what you're doing without a license, and come down here to take you in. You see, that particular rumor about you I followed down here hasn't reached thier ears yet, and if you decide to accept this offer, then Ozpin will make sure it never does. You'll become an official Hunstmen, and make money while doing what you're doing here, except across all the kingdoms."

Cu frowned, "It seems like you've got me backed into a corner here.." That frown turned into a smirk, as he held his right hand out, and a red spear began to form in his hand. Qrow's senses immediately kicked into overdrive, as he took out Harbinger, the weapon in its sword form. "I plan to accept your offer, but I haven't had a good fight in two months, so let's just act like I'm turning ya down, alright?"

"I like your spunk kid ," Qrow matched his smirk, and in the next instant, his sword began to transform into a scythe, "Let's test out how much talk you are."

No more words were needed; a moment passed, and Qrow felt a sudden increase in killing intent, and in the very moment after, the blue spearman was upon him, a wide side swing came from his left, forcing him to meet it with the blade of his scythe. Before he could take action to remedy his mistake, the spearman was already all over him, locking his scythe up with the tip of his spear, and sending a strong kick into Qrow's gut (4), sending him flying backwards and off of the dock, into the grass. He recovered gracefully, but..

'How hard does this kid fucking hit!?' That kick was monstrous, even with his aura protecting him, he had been sent flying back. It seriously felt like a truck had just hit him full speed. Yes, his mistake was simple; a scythe was not usually a weapon of combat for various reasons, and the main being the weight distribution. Due to the majority of the weight being put into the top, where the blade rested, and the shaft of the scythe being lighter for easier wielding, someone like Cu, who used his spear efficiently and with strength, could lock his weapon out by taking advantage of that weight distribution.

"I suggest you switch that weapon of yours back into a sword, if ya want to keep up in this fight," and the brat was cheeky, too. Either way, he took that advice handily, switching Harbinger back into its greatsword form.

"That's more like it!" Cu shouted, as he jumped into the air, bringing the red spear down towards Qrow with force and momentum. Rolling to the side, and dodging the blow, his eyes widened at the ground being upturned from the sheer force of the blow.. Admiration aside, he dashed forward, swinging at the spearman's side, but was frustrated to see Cu merely twirl the spear in his hands, to meet the blade with the shaft of the spear, effectively blocking the blow. In another twirl of the spear, he brought it up from below, slashing upwards with the tip, as he backed away slightly to regain space.

'This is my chance!' Qrow realized, swinging his sword in sync with the spear, and parrying the tip far more upwards than Cu had planned, and the slight widening of his eyes was indication enough. Half-spinning to the side, he used centrifugal force to rotate his blade around with more force, bringing it straight towards the side of the spearman. Once again, Cu brought the side of the spear down to block the blow, but his stance was far less firm and strong, as the force of the rotating blade brought him with it, skidding with the blade to block it. With a shout, he managed to dig his feet into the ground, and block the greatsword, pushing back, and sending multiple quick thrusts towards Qrow, who swiftly dodged each one, sweat creasing on his brow from the speed of the blows.

Realizing it would be far too difficult to keep up with the flurry of blows for much longer, he channeled more aura into his legs than normal, and took a strong kick backwards, allowing himself to safely retreat. Oddly enough, the blue spearman did not give chase, instead he stood there, and in the next moment, his spear began to fade away, disappearing in the same blue it appeared in.

At Qrow's raised eyebrow, Cu scoffed, "any more fighting, and we'll cause some major property damage. The fact that you kept up with that assault and even made me have to take that fight a bit seriously is proof enough that we would end up continuing for far too long. "Take me to this Beacon Academy, but you better believe I'll be gunning for you again in the future when we have somewhere proper to fight again,"

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Qrow knew the boy meant to make good on that promise. The spearman was strong; stronger than anyone in the first year probably, given how much trouble he had given Qrow. It was also clear that he wasn't trying from his own words. How much strength was he hiding? Those were questions he would be glad to forget over some more drinks, and leave up to Ozpin to figure out.

Well, this year was going to be interesting for Beacon at least.

* * *

(1) The place where Heroic Spirits are recorded and held. In other words, where the Holy Grail summons from.

(2) The "World" generally refers to both Alaya and Gaia, though to be specific Alaya is humanities will to survive, and Gaia is the worlds will to survive. Counter Guardians can be summoned by Alaya in many different timelines; for the purpose of this story, Remnant's version of Alaya and Gaia (they are one being instead of two) gathered enough energy and Mana to summon a Servant and contract him to save Remnant.

(3) This outfit is from when Cu is fishing, though I believe we see it a few other times like on Carnival Phantasm. Love this design, actually.

(4) Shirou feels your pain, Qrow.

 **A/N:** Well, with this first chapter done and out, I plan to continue working on the next chapter soon. Leave a review and let me know if you guys enjoyed the start of this story.


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